Harold Camping 'flabbergasted'; rapture a no-show

RELIGION Rapture a no-show - preacher 'flabbergasted'

David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif. less

David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif. less

David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Harold Camping 'flabbergasted'; rapture a no-show

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(05-22) 19:18 PDT ALAMEDA -- The man who said the world was going to end appeared at his front door in Alameda a day later, very much alive but not so well.

"It has been a really tough weekend," said Harold Camping, the 89-year-old fundamentalist radio preacher who convinced hundreds of his followers that the rapture would occur on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Massive earthquakes would strike, he said. Believers would ascend to heaven and the rest would be left to wander a godforsaken planet until Oct. 21, when Camping promised a fiery end to the world.

But on Sunday, almost 18 hours after he thought he'd be in heaven, there was Camping, "flabbergasted" in Alameda, wearing tan slacks, a tucked-in polo shirt and a light jacket.

Birds chirped. A gentle breeze blew. Across the street, neighbors focused on their yard work and the latest neighborhood gossip.